Our Organisation

Urban Planning or rather Spatial Management is both an means and an end in itself. On one hand – urban planning is an important input for efficient and effective infrastructure creation and service provision; and on the other hand - equitable management of urban spaces is a desirable outcome which will characterise equity in quality of life.

IUSF is a sister-organisation of Janaagraha, India’s leading NGO working on issues related to urban governance, citizen participation and democracy. The over-arching framework that guides work is Janaagraha’s REED framework. Urban problems are far more complex than what they seem, and therefore need ‘systemic’ responses and not just ‘band-aid’ solutions. This systems approach urges us to examines solutions to such issues through a REED framework, i.e

R – Look at the Regional implications of the issue;
E – Empower the concerned institutions and stakeholders to plan and implement multi-pronged initiatives;
E – Enable the people within these institutions and other stakeholders with the knowledge, skills, technologies and processes; and
D – Ensure Direct accountability of the delivery institutions.

India Urban Space seeks to bring in a spatial focus not just into planning, but also into issues related to environment, infrastructure creation, service provision, poverty alleviation and urban governance. India Urban Space has grown from a platform that just advocates this view,to one that actively practices this view through pilot projects, and facilitates larger interfaces and partnerships amongst wider set of stakeholders that includes market players.